Without a doubt I’m among the various Nigerians that applauded the appointment of Malam Shehu Dikko as the new chairman National Sports Commission (NSC) by President Bola Ahmad Tinubu a few days ago. And my happiness for his appointment was as a result of my fitting conviction of his ability to convey which will eventually save our fledgling sports from all out breakdown.
But his prosperity will be assumed if he eliminates opinion and does precisely all the exact things which are required and anticipated from him by the enormous number of Nigerians without dread and favor.
And I am certain that President Tinuba has such countless of individuals in his list who are looking for the job of the number one sports administrator of the nation, but however settled on Dikko and to that end he should strive to legitimize and justify his appointment otherwise his tenure will be yet another disaster for Nigerian sports.
For sure, Dikko is not unaware that sports is presently a supplier of occupations and that implies many individuals are currently living calmly with their families and, even supporting others and furthermore fostering their quick surroundings through what they procure in sports.
Club owners or proprietors, managers, directors and numerous others also are earning enough to pay the bills and huge cash from their participation in sports.
But sadly and tragically the situation in Nigeria isn’t equivalent as certain individuals have captured and hijacked it which brought about a circumstance where no serious financial backer or investor who means business will put his or her resources into our sports since his cash won’t return but just deplete, drain and never return.
Also, that is the very justification for why sports in the nation is left in the possession of the government alone as no serious investor(s) can commit his well deserved abundance into garbage.
More so, our unserious propensity in sports management had prompted other African players to shun our leagues, as no presence of any African player is playing or featuring in our leagues.
What we always see is the marching of our young players out of the country to Europe or other places for greener pastures but no foreign player(s) is coming to participate in our sports. This is too bad.
All these and lots more dissatisfactions and disappointments are the pointers that everything isn’t well with our sports and President Tinubu and other Nigerians want you to correct or redress as it is an open pointer that we are not making the best choice to foster our sports in the country.
Therefore, for Malam Shehu Dikko to succeed and have his name written on a plaque of Gold as at the time he would be no more there, he must stand firm and do the right things as sports have been bastardized by greedy Nigerians in the country.
It is on record that Malam Shehu Dikko himself is a beneficiary of the injustice the State Football Associations chairmen of the country have been committing to other football stakeholders by constituting themselves as majority of the 44 member election congress of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
He stands to be a hero if he orders for redress through the alteration of stature so that more people who are more patriotic can participate equally and fully so that we will have the best brains in the “Glass House” to pilot the affairs of our soccer.
And unless Dikko is courageous to do so, there will never be peace in the NFF and our soccer will continue to be in a sorry state, as almost all of those in the NFF from the chairman to board members are not true stakeholders because they are not even club owners but parasites sucking the system dry.That is why NFF elections always ended in court.
Shehu Dikko should be brave to tell the NFF to do the right thing. I remembered that even the previous minister of sports clearly told the Gusau-led NFF to expand its membership of their election congress to represent all other interests.
The pending leadership case in court between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other stakeholders over elective congress is a complex issue.
Only recently, an Appeal Court in Abuja sacked the NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau, and his entire board members over the illegal conduct of the September 30, 2022, NFF elective Congress in Benin City, Edo State.
The ruling had added to the ongoing confusion within the NFF circle as it described them as illegal so they have no business living there at all.
I could remember that the crisis began when the National Association of Nigeria Footballers (NANF) approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an order to stop the Pinnick-led NFF from conducting elections.
But they went ahead and produced a fake order from the Appeal Court and went ahead and conducted their election which the court described as illegal.
Moreover, the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) had dragged the NFF to court in a lawsuit to modify the NFF Statutes before the elective Congress which they refused.
The Appeal Court then ruled that the September 2022 elective Congress was conducted illegally which made it sack Ibrahim Gusau and his board members which also created a power vacuum.
Malam Dikko must know that the country is governed by a constitution which everybody NFF inclusive must respect for peace to reign.
Dikko should also know that we all see the present NFF elective congress as faulty and inadequate because out of the 44 congress members 37 are States/FCT Football Association chairman.
They only gave one slot each to NPFL, NNL, NWLO, Woman League, NRA, Coaches ss. and Players Union. Even the members of press are excluded in their selfish and incorrect arrangement
Most of us see these as clear injustice because there is no way only 44 people will decide the fate of over 200 million Nigerians. Most of which are football crazy lovers.
More so, it is unfortunate that the bulky number of FA chairmen in the congress even though not genuine stakeholders are the ones dictating the fortune of the most followership sports in the country.
Shehu Dikko must know that those FA chairmen that imposed themselves on us cannot even run their state’s FAs effectively. I doubt how they can run the country’s soccer to greater heights.
I could remember that the former minister of sports clearly told Gusau and his team to go and expand the elective congress so that more and genuine stakeholders will participate,
What the former minister want the NFF elective congress to look like which most of us see as more acceptable is to accommodate more, is as follows;
All the 37 states/FCT FA chairmen, 20 NPFL clubs chairmen,12 NNL clubs chairmen,12 NWLO clubs chairmen,12 Women L. clubs chairperson, 6 NRA Rep./Referees, 6 Nigerian Coaches, 6 Players Union and 12 sports journalist, 2 each from the six geographical zones. totaling 123 members.
Or in the alternative, the new NSC chairman can come up with any other way or formula which will accommodate all other interests to douse the fire that keeps on burning in the NFF.
In basketball, Dikko too needs to do something as the last leadership crisis in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) began in 2021 when the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development suspended the NBBF Elective Congress, which was scheduled for October 30, 2021.
This suspension was due to the lingering crisis and fractionalization within the basketball community in Nigeria which led to the polarization of the stakeholders, resulting in multiple factions vying for control of the NBBF.
The Ministry’s intervention aimed to resolve the dispute and ensure a unified leadership for Nigerian basketball could not succeed as they are seen as siding one side against the other.
However, the outcome of this intervention and the current status of the NBBF leadership are unclear and that led to the withdrawal of Nigeria from international basketball games.
I recalled that in 2017, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) suspended Nigeria due to government interference in the NBBF but the suspension was lifted in 2018, but the crisis persisted.
Again in 2021 as the crisis continued which led to multiple factions vying for control of the NBBF and this made FIBA to threaten to ban Nigeria from international competitions if the crisis wasn’t resolved.
Chairman Dikko needs to know that the NBBF has since conducted elections, with Musa Kida re-elected as President.
In The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) too, there are disagreements on who is a true leader of the federation as it has been plagued by leadership crises, internal conflicts, and power struggles which is seriously affecting the development of athletics in Nigeria.
The crisis started in 2020 when Ibrahim Gusau was suspended by the Ministry over allegations of mismanagement and financial impropriety and Gideon Ayanloge was appointed as an Acting President.
In 2021, Sunday Adeleye emerged as Factional President, backed by some state chapters and the 2022 AFN elections were held but results disputed.
The consequences of the crisis then, was international sanctions from World Athletics (WA) due to the leadership crisis.
The Nigerian athletes suffered untold hardship due to lack of proper training, funding, and international competitions. AFN also loses dearly as no potential sponsors due to instability in the federation.
To me, the only way forward is justice. All the federation must conduct free, fair, and transparent elections.
There is an urgent need to review AFN’s constitution to address power struggles and also engage athletes, coaches, and state chapters in decision-making. Government intervention: There is also a need for the NSC’s active involvement to resolve the crisis.
As the leadership crisis persists, with multiple factions vying for control. The Nigerian government and international athletics bodies must intervene to resolve the crisis and restore stability to the AFN.
Moreover, I want Dikko to note that the national sports federations in Nigeria require a multifaceted approach. Here are some of my suggestions:
Under short-term solutions, the governance reform must implement democratic and transparent election processes and also ensure financial transparency and accountability.
Stakeholders engagement which involves athletes, coaches, and state associations in decision-making and also need for capacity building which will provide training for administrators and technical officials. There is also a need for the establishment of dispute resolution mechanisms.
And under long-term solutions, there is a need for the review and amend laws which will update the existing sports laws to reflect international best practices.
There is also the need for the establishment of independent governing bodies to create autonomous bodies to oversee sports development and also allocate sufficient resources for sports development.
Develop more sporting infrastructure which will see the government investing in developing modern sports facilities and equipment and also implement grassroots programs to identify and nurture more talents.
Implementing these and many more measures requires a collective effort from all stakeholders. It is only by addressing governance, accountability, and infrastructure issues, that Nigeria can revitalize its national sports federations and achieve success in international competitions.
Finally, for Dikko to succeed, he needs to act past and do what is expected to save our nearly eroded systems by making sure that only the right, capable and patriotic people get into the various federations to move our various sports forward and gold diggers.
Again, he needs to surround himself with people who will assist and guide him to deliver.
I pray for your success, amen.